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Charles Runnels

REALTOR®

GRI, CLHMS

Charles started his Austin real estate career in 2009, specializing in Central Austin and Downtown. Prior to launching his career in residential real estate, Charles received his Masters in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma and spent thirteen years in the banking industry, which shaped and molded his drive for excellent service and attention to detail. With his extensive background in finance, and as a property owner and investor himself, Charles extends this knowledge to his clients representing buyers, sellers, and investors throughout the transaction process, holding the distinction of Austin’s Top 3% of Realtors. Most importantly, Charles knows that buying and selling a home is not just a transaction, but a relationship. His goal is to make you a client for life.

As a Downtown resident himself, Charles is a huge advocate of walkable neighborhoods and well-planned spaces with soul and character. He is active and well-versed in future and current developments throughout the Austin area.

When Charles isn’t helping people find their dream homes, you can find him enjoying many of the excellent restaurants and coffee shops, exploring Austin’s fabulous green spaces, or rummaging through vintage stores trying to find the most stylish objects from the past.

I have been very pleased with the service I received from Charles Runnels and Realty Austin, as with my past transactions. I highly recommend working with Charles.

Andrew Howe

March 1 2019

Charles Runnels was a star for us starting from our very first meeting when he recommended up-and-coming Austin neighborhoods and advised us on where we should be looking given our price point. He was patient through our financing journey, and though our closing ended up being challenging, he was extremely patient, and his reassurances kept me calm. I will absolutely recommend Charles to anyone looking for a professional, personable, kind, easygoing, and eminently experienced agent.

Tara Ariano

March 1 2019

Charles is amazing! My wife and I have used him twice now and will use him again in the future. He is very trustworthy and knowledgeable. As home buying is such a big decision, that trustworthiness is huge!

Nowlin and Jennifer Jendrzey

January 1 2019

We did not have the opportunity to personally work with Charles, but we did, however, complete the sale of our real estate investment through the hard work and extreme efforts of his assistant, Holly Morse. We have known Holly for a little over a year, due to a separate real estate transaction. We have since successfully experienced both the sale and purchase of properties in the Austin area. Our primary residence is not in the Austin area; therefore Holly's assistance was of extreme importance. She worked diligently and hard to serve our interests. We are very grateful and appreciative of her professionalism and excellent work ethic. We would highly recommend Charles Runnels and Holly Morse to our friends for any real estate needs in the Austin metropolitan area.

Gilda Bowen

July 1 2018

Charles Runnels was recommended to me as someone who is knowledgeable and whom I could trust. He far exceeded my expectations! We met for coffee to visit about my goal of house hunting and to get to know each other. After that meeting, I knew I had chosen well. The search for a new home was well organized and time-efficient. Charles anticipated information I would need, and he sent it without my asking, he frequently communicated so that I knew where we were in negotiations at all times and his exemplary people-skills paved the way for smooth negotiation of contracts.

Charles is an exceptionally effective communicator; he was patient with my many questions, all e-mails were answered the same day they were sent, he expressed himself kindly both verbally, and in writing, and his answers have been thorough and efficient. I would HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend Charles to all my friends and family! He is a 5-star person and Realtor! He makes house-hunting fun, too! There’s so much more I should tell you about the services Charles provided as my Realtor! I need a list of categories to do justice to his excellent work...seriously! Buying a home was also a fun experience, and I am now proud to say that I am a homeowner in Austin!

Sue Sibley

July 1 2018

I can not say enough about Charles. We used him when purchasing our first home in 2013. It was a fairly simple transaction since it was a new build, but he certainly helped answer all the questions we had while going through the long process. He is an expert on the Austin market and incredibly knowledgeable about all things real estate; especially when it comes to neighborhood growth, trends, investment property options, etc. He is a total professional, while still being fun, laid back and nice enough to not laugh at your stupid questions.

This past year, Charles helped us go under contract on a home that had multiple offers. It was our dream house (so we thought), and he had the exact right strategy and approach to get our offer accepted; wooo whooo! After the inspection, we realized multiple problems and repairs estimating to a lot of money that would need to be done immediately. With Charles' smart approach, he was able to get us out of the contract with only being out the inspection money. Buying a home is emotional and heartbreaking when it doesn't work out. Thank goodness for Charles to help us navigate the stressful and challenging process of going under and out of contract. He had all the answers to all our questions. We left that process still feeling positive, thanks to Charles.

In the end, we went with another new build, and Charles has been extremely helpful and diligent in getting information from the builder (and it's been challenging because they aren't all that organized or good at communication.) Where Charles blew us away was the sale of our home. He knew the comps and the 78704 neighborhood very well. He knew the specifics about our particular subdivision, and he had a plan to get us top dollar for our home. Our neighbor's house went on the market the week before. Unfortunately for them, they had the builder resell their home, and they were conservative on the pricing (they wanted a quick sale.) They had some things going for them that we didn't: a two-car garage (and ours was a one-car), a big, new deck, and it was an end unit. With that said, Charles knew their house was underpriced. Charles decided to aim higher since the comps could support it. Less than two days on the market, our house sold for more than our neighbors! In three years, we made a profit. I know the Austin market is insane right now and many people see similar returns, however, our success would not have been possible without Charles. My husband and I are not real estate mavens, we just had Charles Runnels in our corner, and it made all the difference in the world.

Soon we will be looking at purchasing an investment property, and we will, of course, be using Charles. In a city filled with realtors, we are 100% confident that we have the very best one.

Jen Winkelman

June 1 2018

Charles Runnels was the real estate agent that assisted us with selling our family home. He did an excellent market analysis and really advised us well on what needed to be done to ready the house for selling and a competitive asking price. He was always patient with us and always took the time to explain every step. Charles' knowledge of the Austin real estate market was a definite advantage for us!! Thank you, Charles!

Carol Rawson

April 1 2018

This was my third experience with Charles, who is an amazing Realtor. Charles is easily the best one I've ever dealt with. I will continue recommending him to all my associates.

Eric Adams

February 1 2018

Charles Runnels was our agent in a recent sale of our condominium in downtown Austin. Charles was a tremendous asset to my wife Carol and I during the entire process, from his early assessment to property presentation, and until the transaction closed yesterday. Charles is attentive, responsive, professional, and personable, and it is clear to us that he loves his job. We trust that our family’s best interest is Charles' interest, and would not hesitate to utilize him again in any real estate transaction. In fact, we will be selling our home this Spring, and that of my father’s, and Charles will be representing us in both transactions.

Brian and Carol Rawson

December 1 2017

Charles had been great to us with this purchase and our purchase last year. He especially went above and beyond for us this time helping to find financing and keeping the deal together well past the original close date after our financing initially fell through. We don’t think many professionals (in any industry) are as capable or comprehensive as he is and we have now benefited from that twice. We'll certainly look to work with him again in the future. We have already recommended Charles to friends and think highly of him!

Nate and Lora Sheetz

October 1 2017

I loved working with Charles. I loved that he wasn't a pushy salesman; he really listened to what I wanted and used his knowledge of the city to set me up with homes that were all good contenders. I didn't feel pressure to buy; I didn't feel pressure at all! I've already recommended him to a couple I met yesterday looking for a Realtor.

Llana Panich-Linsman

August 1 2017

We first used Charles in 2013 to purchase our home. After speaking with him, we were incredibly impressed by his knowledge, experience, and professionalism. We had a wonderful experience purchasing our home with Charles so when it came time to sell we didn't think of talking to anyone else. He did an amazing job throughout the process from helping with marketing, staging, styling, and photographs to negotiations and a slightly unusual closing while we were on vacation in Japan. Throughout the process he guided us kindly and professionally, offering honest advice based on his expansive knowledge of the market. We are forever grateful for Charles' help and will recommend him to absolutely anyone and everyone.

Hannah and Nick Meyer

July 1 2017

I can’t say enough about the positive experience I had with Charles. I felt the context of my move was anything but straightforward for many reasons and Charles was there to support and explain what was happening every step of the way. Being that I am Canadian and have no US credit rating, buying a higher end condo was certainly a challenge and not understanding the US closing and purchasing process was an education. In all the chaos, I knew that Charles was protecting my best interests and did some excellent negotiating on my behalf with the seller. His knowledge of Austin real estate, and specifically his knowledge of the downtown, was instrumental in securing my property at what I feel was a good price for this very competitive market. I can say with certainty that when it comes time to sell my property or purchase another property, Charles will be my first call. I have bought and sold a lot of property, but this was my most seamless experience.

Allyson Zarowny

March 1 2017

I've had a good experience with Charles. This is actually the second purchase I've completed with him in the last 6 months. I have even recommended and introduced him to a friend who, like me, lives abroad and is interested in purchasing real estate there. Someday, I hope to actually come see Austin for the first time :-).

Andrew Howe

December 1 2016

This is my first home purchase but Charles Runnels helped me through the whole way, and I'm sure I'll still continue to rely on him :) I was clueless to everything so he essentially had to babysit me the whole way through, but he never made me feel like I was lost (or hopeless!). I'm sure his day is very busy, but it felt like I was the only one he was working with because of all the care and attention he gave me.

Maiko Hoshino, Google Review

October 1 2016

I can't say enough good things about Charles Runnels! We were so lucky that we were put in touch with Charles to help us find our home. If you are looking to find a house that you'll fall in love with, and have the entire process be easy and stress-free, please talk to Charles!

When we were first looking for a house we were living in Chicago and had to do most of the house hunting remotely, which complicated matters. Over the summer, we found a house we loved and put in an offer on it, while we were still living out of town, and Charles went so far above and beyond. He spent all day at the house for all the inspections since we weren't living in Austin yet. Unfortunately, there were a few issues with the house, and we decided to keep looking. Not to worry, Charles found us an incredible rental, that we were excited to move in to. Unfortunately, after we'd lived there for awhile, the landlord wanted to move in, so he bought us out of our lease, so we needed Charles' help again. This time he found us a house that was perfect for what we were looking for. It has the charm and character that I desperately wanted, and the bones and investment possibilities that my boyfriend wanted. It's an understatement to say that Charles was amazing throughout the negotiation process. We ended up getting an incredible deal on a great house in a wonderful location, and it's all thanks to Charles.

While we're probably not the easiest couple to work with, being out to town and having bad luck at every possible point, so I'm so happy we had Charles on our side to help keep us sane and make sure we found a place that we both absolutely loved. We could not have found a better realtor for us!

Mary Kate M., Yelp Review

September 1 2016

I don't live in Austin so am unfamiliar with the realtors there. A friend recommended to me Charles Runnels at Realty Austin, and I'm very glad I followed the recommendation. Despite issues I had in the finding/purchasing process, I have only positive things to say about Charles and his team. The home I purchased is for investment purposes; immediately after the close, Charles started preparations for listing the home for leasing and transition to a management company. I will definitely contact Charles for my next purchase in Austin!

Andrew Howe, Facebook Review

September 1 2016

As far as Charles goes… We’ve worked with him a number of times now and will keep coming back. He’s knowledgeable, focused, responsive, and everything else we expect. He has helped us navigate the process and kept us from freaking out when we were getting close to freaking out. We actually have an opportunity through our bank to use “recommended” agents and the bank will reimburse us up to 3k for the sale of a home and 3k for the purchase of a home. But Charles is our go-to guy, and we didn’t even consider any other option. We actually dumped our bank and went with Charles’ preferred lender, because we wanted to make sure things ran smoothly (so far so good!). Charles is also some kind of master networker, because he got us in touch with various professionals to do various things. Every one of his recommendations was fair, professional, and quick.

As for Realty Austin as a whole.. I thought all of the staff at Realty Austin were very helpful, including Christine McCarty, our contract coordinator and Christina Bull, our listing coordinator. They were both extremely responsive, professional, and made me feel very comfortable that we were being well taken care of. I really felt like we were working with a solid well-oiled machine. Not once did I have any concerns.

Nick Field

June 1 2016

Charles Runnels was awesome to work with!! Being a first time home buyer I was a bit uncertain on how the process would turn out but Charles took us under his wing and lead the way. He and the rest of his team at Realty Austin were very professional, catered to our every need, and answered every question thoroughly. They were top notch from start to finish. Additionally, Charles has an extensive knowledge of the market and was able to provide very helpful information throughout the whole process. He was also able to give recommendations of different contractors, insurance companies, lenders, etc. He even gave me client referrals for my own business! And above all else, found us an awesome home at a below market rate! It's nice having some built in equity before you even move in :) Realty Austin and their team of professionals sets the standard for the way home buying should be.

Graham Trull, Google Review

February 1 2016

Our Realty Austin agent, Charles Runnels, was absolutely indispensable in the home buying process. He helped us get a great house in a ruthless market and for a very fair price. In addition, he was always pleasant and professional and has a great sense of humor. When you are house shopping, you spend a lot of time with your Realtor. Believe me, it matters. If we buy again, he will be the first call we make.

Lora P., Yelp Review

January 1 2016

My husband and I had an extremely positive experience working with Charles. He is an exceptional realtor and went above and beyond to help us find the perfect home. As first-time home buyers, we had so many questions. Charles not only answered our questions, but took time to explain complicated processes to us and made our experience seamless and as stress-free as possible.

We were incredibly fortunate to work with Charles; we have, and continue to, recommend him to all of our friends.

Jennifer Jendrzey

November 1 2015

I really enjoyed working with Charles to sell my property. His vast knowledge of real estate in general and Austin in particular were a huge help to me as a first time seller. I was constantly impressed by his professionalism and social media savvy.

I will definitely be working with Charles in the future when I’m ready to buy my next property.

Meredith Woods

A month after turning in the 60 day notice to our apartment complex, my wife and I realized we had the resources to buy a home. We had met Charles about a year prior and gave him a call. Within a day of calling him, we burst into action. We viewed over 30 homes, bid on one, watched it fall through (not his fault), bid on another, won a multiple offer situation, and moved in. This happened in 33 days. We didn’t know anything about the home buying process, and we are very glad we had him as a guide. I will use him again next time around.

Eric A.

Charles was amazing at helping my husband and I find our first home. He walked us through every step and shared his knowledge so that we found the perfect home for us. We literally gave him a month to help us find a home AND close and he did it! Note: I don’t recommend this short of a time period for buying a house for anyone as it gets chaotic. He worked non-stop for us, even while traveling and made sure everything was in order in more than a timely fashion. When the first house that we bid on fell through, he picked us back up again and off we went until we got one that was really right for our needs. Not only was Charles professional, we had a TON of fun. I was actually sad when we closed because I knew I wouldn’t be talking to him every day. I would recommend him over and over again to anyone looking to buy or sell their home.

Rebekka A.

All I can say is “WOW”. Working with Charles has been a pleasure, he’s superbly meticulous and that’s what you want in a Realtor. I had the misfortune of working with someone prior, and what a different once he came on board. He’s professional, incredibly detail oriented, and get’s the job done. He’s doing everything possible to get my property sold and then some. I would highly recommend Charles.

Maggie B.

Charles did a very good job as our agent when we were looking for a home in Central Austin. We had very specific criteria, and Charles was very helpful in assisting us in our search. He was always available when we needed him. In addition, he did a great job in negotiating a lower price after our home inspection. Furthermore, I have worked with Charles in the past in financial services, and his professionalism and knowledge about mortgage finance exceeds that of the average real estate agent. I would recommend Charles to anyone buying a home in Austin.

Amy C.

We first used Charles in 2013 to purchase our home. After speaking with him we were incredibly impressed by his knowledge, experience and professionalism. We had a wonderful experience purchasing our home with Charles so when it came time to sell we didn’t think of talking to anyone else. He did an amazing job throughout the process from helping with marketing, staging, styling and photographs to negotiations and even a slightly unusual closing while we were on vacation. Throughout the process he guided us Kindly and professionally, offering honest advice based on his expansive knowledge of the market. We are forever grateful for Charles’ help and will recommend him to absolutely anyone and everyone.

Anonymous

I had been trying to sell my house for 5 years. Different agents, for sale by owner, etc. Once I signed the listing agreement with Charles, the house was sold in less than 90 days and we got 98% of the asking price. AND… this was a tenant occupied house, so he had to deal with us, the buyers and our tenants- and did it all with a smile. You can call this guy “Charles in Charge”!

Chris P.

Charles helped us find our DREAM home and sell our last home with 0 stress. I have to add, the staging was FANTASTIC. Besides that, he is an absolute JOY to be with and am happy to call him a friend! Charming Charles!

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